Why we read as kids, and why kids don’t read anymore

By Edward A. Forbes

The Bulletin

I like to write when I feel the creative juices flowing. I sometimes write poems, but I more frequently author little stories or essays about things I observe.

I think any writer (author sounds too pretentious for one of my limited talents) wants their work to be read. I wonder who will read them.

John Toth, publisher of the Bulletin and one of its columnists, seems to feel that the youth of today will begin to read as they get older.

I began to read as a youngster. The books I read provided greater escape than any movie or television program. I couldn’t be Johnny Weissmuller, but I could be Tarzan.

The books allowed my imagination to roam with the story line. My reading is a habit I cultivated at an early age before social media, when television was in its infancy, and movies were a luxury item.

The radio, sadly, had begun its decline in my youth. The radio let you use your imagination, but still the book is best. If today’s youth don’t view reading as entertaining or pleasurable, why would they take it up later in life?

Who could have dreamed that the smaller and more portable the phone became, how its influence would shape our lives? Marketing people, I’m sure. It’s not just today’s youth immersed in social media; adults, too, are holding their phones like an additional appendage. If you don’t know about something, just google it.

I talk to Siri more frequently than I speak to my children, and they and my grandchildren are frequent flyers of YouTube, Twitter (now x), and Instagram.

 I know the day is coming when you call 911, and the operator will say, “could you hold please?” In that time, they will finish watching a video or participating in a chat.

Have you had the pleasure of chatting with a virtual “person” on some company’s website?

They prefer for you to select from one of a few preselected questions. These are usually questions that have nothing to do with your call, but you can take comfort in the knowledge that “it” is available 24-7.

It is almost impossible to find the magic path to a real live support person.

Let my rant continue. Why don’t children read anymore? There are many theories, but all seem to agree that the social media that offers instant gratification is one culprit.

The teaching methods of the not-so-distant past that discouraged teaching phonics and began practices like “three-cueing.”

National test scores in reading and math have declined since the Covid-19 pandemic. Data released by the National Center of Education Statistics showed that Louisiana, New Mexico, Mississippi and Texas had the lowest rates of literacy in the U.S.

 Parents need to take charge and participate in the education of their children. Limit time children can spend on social media, television and that dreaded cell phone.

Encourage utilization of the libraries available, read to the young and encourage them to talk to you about what they are reading. That cell phone is a great babysitter but don’t let it become the all-day sitter.

Encourage them to explore the world of books.

(Email Edward Forbes at eforbes1946@gmail.com or send comments to The Bulletin, P.O. Box 2426, Angleton, TX. 77516.)